gagcacogoga^aogs^sggaGcg^ 



I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. % 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, $ 



ANALYSIS 



OF 



SHARON WATERS, 

SCHOHAKIE COUNTY: 



ALSO OF 



AVON, RICHFIELD, AND BEDFORD MINERAL WATERS. 



WITH DIRECTIONS FOR INVALIDS. 



By SEBASTIAN F. FONDA, M.D., 

RESIDENT PHYSICIAN. 



NEW YORK: 
JOHN J. SCIIROEDER, MEDICAL BOOKSELLER, 

75 THIRD AVENUE. 

1854. 



pA 



2<w 



Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1854, by 
S. F. FONDA, 
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for tl 
Southern District of New York. 



R. CRAIGHEAD, PRINTER, 

53 Vesey st„ N. Y. 



TO THE REV. DR. DUMONT. 

Dear Sir: — 

To no other friend can I inscribe this volume more 
cordially and appropriately than to yourself. It is due to 
you not only on account of the agreeable associations con- 
necting your name with the subjects of which it treats, but 
as a token of gratitude for many acts of kindness. 

Your much obliged and grateful friend, 

S. R FONDA. 



SRRATA 



By an accidental omission th* item* „f +i, t ■ 

of th+ Pi.ni i i . ' item & of the analysis 

One gallon contairis : 

Sulphate of Magnesia ^" 

:; f° da -..'." i-oo 

111116 •■• . 16-36 
Iron • • . . 86-00 

Also, Section III. should be supplied on page 42. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

General Description of Sharon Springs, - 9 

L- — The Operation of Eliminative Medicines, - 19 

II. — Mineral Springs, — Analysis, History, Medicinal 

Effects, --------- 29 

III. — External Use of the Sharon Water, — Anatomy 

and Physiology of the Skin, - 42 

Functions of the Skin, 50 

Baths, -------- 65 

Vapor Bathing, -------62 

IV. — Internal Use of the Sharon "Water, - - 81 

Analysis of Different Springs, - - - - 90 

Professional Advice before Leaving Home, - 95 



PREFACE. 



In the treatise now presented to the profession and the 
public, the author has endeavored to exhibit a view of the 
mineral waters of Sharon Springs. In so doing, it appeared 
necessary to enter into some detail on the anatomy and phy- 
siology of the human system, in order to give a clear exposi- 
tion of the beneficial effects of bathing, and of the elimination 
of excrementitious substances from the blood. It is not ex- 
pected that all the readers of the following pages will look 
upon their contents with equal interest, or derive from them 
an equal amount of information; but everything relating to 
the preservation of health by baths and auxiliary processes 
must be regarded as property common to all The author 
hopes that his labors will be instrumental in promoting the 
frequent use of the bath ; as he is convinced that if it once 
becomes general, it will be found not only to contribute 
greatly to individual comfort and pleasure, but also to pro- 
mote the health of the community at large. It would be a 
step in the advance from physical to moral amelioration and 
progress. 



SHARON SPRINGS. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SHARON SPRINGS .* 

When, over the wide-spread plain, the weary- 
traveller sees rising into view the dim outlines 
of shade-producing trees, his spirits are enli- 
vened, and his pace is quickened. But when 
the well defined forms have chased away all 
uncertainty, then the anticipated pleasures of 
refreshment and rest in the shade are scarcely 
inferior to the actual realization. And this plea- 
sure is heightened into joy when the faint and 
thirsty wayfarer suddenly beholds crystal foun- 
tains forcing their sparkling waters from among 
the rocks beneath the far-spreading forest screens. 

* For this introductory description of the Springs, the 
author is indebted to the kindness of Samuel Meet, Esq., of 
New York City. 

1* 



10 SHARON SPRINGS. 

He drinks, and finds the waters restorative of 
long-lost health ; and with a heart swelling with 
gratitude to the Giver of all Good, he gazes with 
delight over the beautiful, varied, and extended 
landscape. 

Leaving the Delavan House at Albany, you 
step into the cars, cross the pine lands to Sche- 
nectady, and thence continue along the banks 
of the Mohawk to Palatine Bridge, a distance 
of fifty-three miles. You then take stage, and 
travel southerly, over country enlivened by well 
cultivated fields, and pleasantly broken into hills 
and deep water-worn ravines. 

You approach the village of Sharon Springs 
by a romantic road, cut beside a highland ridge 
covered with dense and lofty forest. Below the 
road, and overshadowed by evergreen and de- 
ciduous trees, some of which are venerable for 
their age, runs a babbling stream. Passing over 
a bridge, by which is a mill protected and half 
concealed in the embrace of the trees, you ascend 
to the level of the main street. On the left, 
twelve hundred feet above the Hudson River, 
stands the Pavilion, with its columns and out- 
buildings. Some five or six other hotels, and 
some thirty or forty dwellings are on that street, 



SHARON ei KINGS. 11 

and constitute the main portion of the village. 
This street, parallel with the stream, winds over 
the elevated grounds at the foot of which issues 
the fountain. The stream runs along the base of 
the mountainous ridge lying west of the main 
street, covered with a forest that is universally 
admired, and possessing in a high degree the 
elements of venerableness and grandeur. 

These woods afford extensive, varied, and plea- 
sant walks. A few Indian families, who here 
take up their summer residences, impart to the 
scene a forest wildness of other days. They em- 
ploy their time in making baskets, fans, and 
similar articles, which are sold to the visitors. 
The Indian boys display their expertness in 
shooting, with bow and arrow, at pennies that 
soon find their way to their pockets. 

At the base of this ridge, streams of clear, 
sparkling, medicinal waters boil up and gush 
out of the soil and rocks, diffusing a sulphurous 
smell for some distance around. As they flow 
they deposit on the rocks their sulphurous and 
magnesian combinations, forming a light yel- 
lowish incrustation, and where arrested by dams 
they assume a milky blueness. The rocks, crop- 
ping out of the side and at the base of the ridge, 
appear to be sedimentary deposits of the waters. 



12 SHARON SPRINGS. 

If the waters pass over moss or other vegetable 
growths, they incrust every fibre, leaf, and 
branch, producing beautiful specimens of petri- 
faction. 

These springs are within the very shade of the 
forest. Walks of easy and varied grades lead at 
once into the midst of the primitive and undis- 
turbed wilds. The lover of nature may sit and 
luxuriate, now in the stillness and grandeur, and 
now in the roar and strength of the forest ; or he 
may prolong his rambling, ascending the crooked 
cattle pathways until he reaches an elevated 
clearing, whence he can look down on the Pa- 
vilion, and enjoy a prospect as extended as it is 
delightful. Woods and cultivated fields join on 
to woods, fields, and orchards, until they are lost 
on the face of the distant mountains, which, 
rising in succession, blend their blueness with 
the clouds. The sight is cheering and healthful. 
How many ages have passed away in converting 
seemingly so large a portion of the stubborn 
forests of the earth into fruitful fields ! Whence 
the giants that aided our fathers in labors so 
great ! 

Breaking away from the enchanting scene, 
and continuing on northerly through the woods, 
the visitor suddenly finds himself at the extreme 



SHARON SPRINGS. 13 

end of the mountain, and there, from an observa- 
tory not of human erection, is a scene that tasks 
all power of description. In addition to the 
easterly view, the eye looks away, north and 
west, over a chequered expanse that stretches 
far, — where the Adirondack mountains com- 
mune with the clouds, and where the motherly 
queen of the British Isles claims sovereignty. 
As the eye comes back it traces out the silvery 
course of the Mohawk, — the pathways of its 
successful competitors, the great Erie Canal and 
Central Railroad, — measures village with vil- 
lage, and marks with complacency the steeples 
rising here and there out of the rural neighbor- 
hoods. As the rambler sits feasting on the 
vision, the atmospheric agencies unite in adding 
new charms to the scene ; the winds come with 
varied speed and power, and the trees and 
ripening fields gracefully wave their arms in 
deference and respectful gratitude ; the shadows 
run over the landscape in pursuit of the clouds 
like pleasing drqams ; the sun varies its silvering, 
gilding, and bronzing processes, ever trying the 
effects of streams of direct rays and volumes 
of reflected light and shade from clouds, and 
whether displeased with its attempts, or un wil- 
ling to translate the beholder from earth, it 



14 SHARON SPRINGS. 

brushes away its gilding, draws its curtains of 
clouds, and retires. 

Descending from the highland, you may ex- 
tend your walk along the confines of the great 
basin of farm lands, and return up the ravine, 
following a path beside a restless brook, over- 
shadowed by dense foliage. Thence you may 
turn towards the east, and ascend the eminence 
on which stands the Pavilion Hotel, a large and 
imposing structure, commanding a prospect on 
which the eye, never tiring, travels over field 
after field, till the dividing lines are lost on the 
side of the distant mountains. For airiness from 
every point of the compass, for beauty, richness, 
and extent of rural scenery, this spacious sum- 
mer retreat is surpassed by few from Maine to 
the Rocky Mountains. 

Strolling to the east, you enter other beauti- 
ful woods, held sacred from the woodman's axe 
probably during the years of the independence 
of these United States. Continuing south for a 
mile you strike the turnpike roa<J from Albany 
to the shores of Take Erie, well known in the 
days of our fathers as the great western avenue 
of travel and trade. Its glory has departed. 
The canal and railroad have unhinged its toll- 
gates. The tens of thousands of fat cattle have 



SHARON SPKINGS. 15 

deserted it for the more easy, rapid, and modern 
mode of locomotion to the great slaughter-houses. 
Wherever you direct your footsteps, you find 
variations in the scenery before and around you. 
In one minute you can leave the main street, 
and plunge into the solemn forest. When you 
have taken your draught of the health-giving 
waters, in a moment you may return to the 
social and gay circle, or gain a solitude among 
the lofty and venerable trees, whose leafy tops 
drink in all the rays the great sun can pour out. 
In a walk of a few minutes you may exchange a 
circumscribed vision for an extended and cheer- 
ing landscape. In this respect there is a great 
contrast between Sharon and Saratoga. In the 
latter there is almost one level sameness. Art, 
however, has lent its aid, and here and there 
touched up the scene into the beautiful. To the 
former nature has been lavish of its rural gifts, 
but art has been dilatory and niggardly. With 
a moiety of the outlay expended at Saratoga, 
Sharon would be considered one of the most 
lovely and romantic spots in our whole country. 
Its capabilities are almost unlimited. A ride to 
Cherry Yalley is buoyant and inspiring to the 
soul. Otsego Lake, embosomed among lovely 
hills, celebrated for its salmon-trout and other 



16 SHAEON SPRINGS. 

fish, as excellent in flavor as its waters are pure, 
is further south, but within a morning's airing. 
Cooperstown, looking northerly, commands a 
view of its whole nine miles. In whatever 
direction you walk or ride you meet with sour- 
ces of enjoyment. Howe's wonderful cave can 
be reached with comparatively little exertion. 

This whole region of country comprised the 
frontier settlements during the Revolutionary 
war. Almost every rood of land has a tale of 
heroism, suffering, cruelty, and blood. A large 
volume of local thrilling incidents of the times 
that tried the souls of men can be found at the 
public houses. 

Sharon Springs are in Schoharie county, near 
the lines of Montgomery and Otsego counties, — 
in a healthy, rich, agricultural region. Board 
can be had in private families at from three to 
eight dollars, and in hotels at from five to fifteen 
dollars per week. The hotels are spacious and 
airy, and are well conducted. The unfavorable 
circumstances in which much of the property of 
the village has been situated, are in a great de- 
gree removed. Its growth and prosperity will 
doubtless be commensurate with the increasing 
reputation of the waters. The number of visit- 
ors has for several years pressed on the accom- 



SHARON SPRINGS. 17 

modations, which, in 1853, were sufficient for 
upwards of seven hundred at a time. During the 
season, probably more than three thousand per- 
sons took board in the village. This influx of 
strangers affords a cash market for almost every 
article grown on the neighboring farms. 

Although I had limited opportunities for in- 
formation, yet from facts obtained from visitors, 
physicians, and others, I was much impressed 
with the preventive and restorative effects of 
the waters on the human system, in reference to 
many diseases. Since my return to New York 
city, I have found that there is scarcely any 
knowledge of the Springs ; and that some phy- 
sicians are not only unacquainted with the me- 
dicinal properties of the waters, but are even 
ignorant of the locality of Sharon. 



THE OPERATION OF ELIMINATIVE MEDICINES. 

Before entering upon the anatomy and phy- 
siology of the cutaneous system, I purpose to 
explain the operation of Eliminative Medicines, 
and also the beneficial effects of mineral waters. 

The mode of operation of eliminative medi- 
cines is a matter of much importance, and its 
consideration will render necessary some inquiry 
into the character and functions of those impor- 
tant glandular organs which they are said to 
excite to action. 

The rational explanation of the process of 
elimination, or secretion, has been, in all ages of 
science, a favorite topic with speculators and the- 
orists, — sound or unsound in their views accord- 
ing to the light that was given to them. With 
regard to its essential nature, and its immediate 
bearing on the cure of disease, the subject has 
been generally understood with tolerable clear- 
ness. From the time of Hippocrates down- 
wards, the use of evacuants, in the treatment 



/ 



20 SHARON SPRINGS. 

of fevers and other disorders, has been recog- 
nised, and their efficacy usually explained by 
supposing that they caused the passage out of 
the body, through the glands, of certain matters 
that were formed in the blood, but ought not to 
remain in it. This view was more particularly 
insisted on, towards the close of the seventeenth 
century, by Dr. Thomas Sydenham ; and again, 
at the commencement of the eighteenth, by Dr. 
A. Pitcairn, in an essay on the use of evacuants 
in fevers. Both these writers had observed that 
fevers and other disorders had generally a ten- 
dency to pass off with an increase in one or more 
of the secretions ; and they inferred from this, 
and from the results of their experience, that in 
stimulating and urging this secretion, the physi- 
cian would be doing his best to promote a cure. 
More recently the same idea has been followed 
up by Cullen, Hamilton, and others. This the- 
ory is not in our immediate province. Though 
based upon reasonable grounds, it has perhaps 
been too universally applied. It will suffice 
now if we assume that remedies whose action is 
to increase the amount of secretion have often 
an important bearing on the cure of disease. 
"We have only to inquire into their mode of ope- 
ration. 



SHARON SPRINGS. 21 

As a preliminary step, there is one general 
law of secretion which it is of importance that 
we should clearly lay down, viz. it is the spe- 
cial object of each gland, or set of glands, tc 
secrete from the blood particular materials, and 
to expel them from the body. It follows from 
this law, that when any morbid substance or 
product, or anything which is in the system, but 
cannot naturally remain there, has to pass out, 
it prefers to pass by some glands rather than by 
others. 

It must be remembered that the glands afford 
the only means by which a substance can make 
its exit from the blood ; but we are still much in 
the dark as to the rationale of this force or ac- 
tion, by which particular matters are drawn 
towards each gland. 

Dr. Pitcairn, a great man for the age in which 
he lived, — a man of original thought and natu- 
ral genius, — gives us, in his essay on the circu- 
lation of the blood, a learned account of three 
theories on this subject, which were in vogue in 
his time. They are of importance as showing 
that the fact was then very clearly recognised, 
however uncertain the explanation of it may be. 
One party supposed that there was stored up 
in each gland a certain material which prevented 



22 SHARON SPRINGS. 

the passage through to itself of any dissimilar 
substance: just as when a sheet of paper is 
steeped in oil, oil only will pass through it, and 
not water. A second party, called the " chemi- 
cal party," supposed that there must be, in the 
immediate neighborhood of each gland, a subtle 
fluid whose office it was to form and separate 
from the blood the materials which that gland 
was designed to secrete. A third set of physi- 
cians armed themselves with mathematics, and 
with the newly discovered principle of Newton, 
and actually worked out formulae and equations 
to support their arguments. They had settled 
and perhaps reasonable ideas as to the definite 
shapes of atoms. They averred that each gland 
was to be compared to a sieve or strainer, having 
pores of a particular size, and of a certain geo- 
metrical shape, and that each secreted atom 
could only pass through a pore that exactly 
coincides in size and figure with itself. 

The two former of these theories Dr. Pitcairn 
rejected with high disdain; the third he accepted 
in a modified form. He supposed that the ves- 
sels in the glands terminated in small open 
mouths, always circular, but differing in diame- 
ter in different glands, so that each would not 
admit the passage of a particle above a given 



SHARON SPEINGS. 23 

diameter. Thus lie supposed that each secre- 
tion would consist only of certain peculiar par- 
ticles. Possibly Dr. Pitcairn forgot that small 
particles would seldom hesitate to pass through 
large ducts. 

We may perhaps feel inclined to ridicule these 
crude speculations of the philosophers of the 
eighteenth century ; we may be disposed to 
smile at the idea of vessels with open mouths, 
and of glands which are riddled with holes, like 
the buckets of the Naiades ; but we must con- 
fess, that if at the present clay we have swept 
away these notions, we have certainly added 
nothing in their stead : nor can we explain this 
matter a whit more clearly than our predeces 
sors a century and a half ago. 

The fact nevertheless is plain, however vainly 
we may seek for the explanation. It is an es- 
tablished rule, to which there are few excep- 
tions, that every substance which is formed in 
the blood and must be removed from the body, 
tends to pass out through some particular gland. 
Thus, it is the particular function of the kidneys 
to excrete water, urea, uric acid, and certain 
salts ; of the bowels, to excrete effete matter and 
gases ; and of the liver, to excrete fatty mat- 
ters, tannin, cholesterine, and chlorate of soda. 



24 SHARON SPRINGS. 

Water, being the necessary solvent of the solid 
matters in all the fluid secretions, is secreted, in 
greater or less quantity, by all the important 
glands. The kidneys are the chief emunctories 
of water, — i. e. it is their province to separate it 
from the blood when it has entered in an unnatu- 
ral amount. But in the excretion of water there 
exists a compensating relation between the skin, 
kidneys, and bowels, and particularly between 
the two former ; so that when it is not properly 
excreted by the kidneys, it may pass out by the 
skin and conversely. It is well known that this 
change may be determined by several circum- 
stances, particularly by the conditions of heat 
and cold, or moisture and dryness. The relation 
between the functions of the skin and kidneys 
applies also to other fluid and solid substances, 
as will be seen when we consider the medicines 
which act upon these glands. 

Now this law of selective secretion applies not 
only, as it seems to me, to substances which, in 
the course of nature, are formed in the blood, 
and require to be excreted from it, but also to 
other matters, w T hich have been, as it were, ac- 
cidentally introduced from without, and which 
cannot properly remain in the system. Thus it 
would apply to all medicinal bodies which have 



SHARON SPRINGS. 25 

passed from the stomach into the blood, and 
which, not being natural constituents of that 
fluid, must be removed. 

By way of summary, the preceding observa- 
tions may be resolved into the following propo- 
sitions : — 

1. That eliminatives are medicines which en- 
ter into the blood. 

2. That they cannot remain there, but must 
pass out of the body. 

3. That in so doing they have a tendency to 
pass out by particular glands. 

4. That the result of their passage through a 
gland is to increase its secretion. 

5. That they are of use when the state of the 
system requires that the function of a gland 
should be restored or promoted. 

"What I wish to prove is, that a medicine in- 
creases secretion simply by being itself secreted ; 
that while passing through a gland it stimulates 
the secreting cells, and rouses them to a proper 
performance of their natural functions ; that 
every eliminative medicine has a tendency to- 
wards a particular gland, and increases the 
secretion of that gland ; that thus, as far as our 
information on the subject extends, we find that 
cathartics are excreted from the blood by the 

2 



26 SHARON SPRINGS. 

glands of the bowels, and pass out with the 
fseces; that diuretics are to be discovered in the 
urine, diaphoretics in the sweat, and volatile 
expectorants may be detected in the odor of the 
breath. 

Any material which is naturally eliminated 
would act as an eliminative medicine. Thus, if 
a drachm of urea be dissolved in water, and 
injected into the veins of a dog, it causes copious 
urination, which continues until the whole is 
excreted. This well illustrates the argument. 

Further, we find that when an eliminative 
medicine is diverted from the gland by which 
it usually passes out, it no longer augments the 
secretion of that gland. Dr. Ward gives an 
interesting case of a woman who was never 
purged by castor oil, but in whom the oil ex- 
uded from the skin, and acted as a diaphoretic. 
And it is, as I have said, well known that the 
conditions of cold and exercise will cause a 
diaphoretic, in most cases, to act on the kidneys, 
because it is then excreted by them. For the 
same reason, warmth, confinement, and rest will 
induce a diuretic medicine to act on the skin. 

Now, if it be shown on the one hand, that 
eliminative medicines themselves pass through 
the glands whose secretions tljqy augment ; and 



SHAKON SPRINGS. 27 

on the other hand, that when they do not pass 
through them, they do not, as a general rule, 
augment their secretion, it may fairly be pre- 
sumed that they operate by so passing through. 

I assert then, that medicines which stimulate 
secretions are themselves- secreted. But the 
converse of this, — L e. that all medicines which 
are secreted at the same time increase secre- 
tion, — though it holds good in the main, is not 
invariably true. There are two chief exceptions 
to it : these are astringents and hyperemics. 
When an astringent passes through a gland, it 
tends, by its natural force, to check secretion, 
and to cause constriction of the ducts. Thus, 
uva ursi may reduce the amount of the urine, 
although it sometimes increases it, in which case 
the eliminative may be said to overpower the 
astringent tendency. So also catechu, kino, and 
sulphuric acid diminish the secretion of the 
i&testinal glands. But general astringents are 
not always glandular astringents ; thus, the 
mineral acids act as diuretics. 

By hyperemics, I mean medicines which pro- 
duce congestion. Powerful eliminatives do this 
when given in excess, simply by exciting imme- 
diate action. Now, it is a general rule that 
congestion, however caused, diminishes the se- 



28 SHARON SPRINGS. 

cretion of a gland. Thus congestion of the liver 
produces jaundice ; congestion of the kidney, 
ischuria. After scarlatina, when the kidneys 
are suddenly called upon to eliminate a morbid 
material from the blood, congestion of the glands 
may be caused, the urine is diminished, and 
dropsy results. 

Cantharides and turpentine are diuretics. 
They increase the urine when taken in mode- 
rate doses; but an overdose will diminish it, 
and may cause painful strangury, with an al- 
most total suppression of the secretion. The 
explanation of such a result is obvious. Con- 
gestion is caused by the excessive action. In 
the same way, we find that a large dose of 
mercury, naturally a cholagogue, may produce 
jaundice by causing congestion of the liver. 
This fact has been observed by Dr. Graves, of 
Dublin. 

In all cases, then, in which observations have 
been made, we find that an eliminative medi- 
cine is secreted by the gland which is stimu- 
lated by it ; and in most cases, that a medicine 
which is excreted by a gland tends to increase 
its particular secretion. 



n. 

MINERAL SPRINGS. 



ANALYSIS, HISTORY, MEDICINAL EFFECTS. 



After the preceding general statement of the 
case, we are prepared to direct our attention to 
the Mineral Springs at Sharon. And first, of 
the analysis ; secondly, of the medicinal effects 
of each substance. 



SHARON WHITE SULPHUR SPRING. 
Analysis by Dr. J. R. Chilton. 

One gallon contains, 

Sulphate of magnesia, 42.40 grains. 

Sulphate of lime, 111.62 " 

Chloride of sodium, 2.24 " 

Chloride of magnesia, - 2.40 " 

Hydro-sulphuret of sodium, and hydro-sulphuret 

of calcium, 2.28 " 

Solid contents, - - - - 160.94 grains. 
Sulphureted hydrogen gas, - - - - 16 inches. 



30 SHARON SPRINGS. 

SHARON MAGNESIA SPRING. 

By Prof. Lawrence Reed, of New York. 

Bicarb, magnesia, - - - - - - 30.5 grains. 

Sulphate of magnesia, ----- 22. 7 " 

Sulphate of lime, - - - - - - 76. " 

Hydro-sulphurets of magnesia and lime, - 0.50 " 

Chlorides of sodium and magnesia, 3. 

Solid contents, 132.7 grains. 

Sulphureted hydrogen, 3.3 inches. 

Mineral waters have been known to mankind 
from the most remote periods of antiquity, 
They were employed medicinally, both as ex- 
ternal and internal agents, for the prevention, 
alleviation, and cure of diseases. Homer speaks 
of tepid and cold springs. The Asclepiadge, or 
followers of JEsculapius, erected their temples 
in the neighborhood of mineral and thermal 
waters. Hippocrates speaks of mineral waters, 
though he does not prescribe them when treat- 
ing of particular diseases. Pliny also notices 
their medicinal properties. 

The principal source of mineral waters is the 
atmosphere, from which water is obtained in the 
form of rain, snow, hail, and dew, and which, 
after percolating a certain portion of the earth, 



SHARON SPRINGS. 31 

and dissolving various substances m its passage, 
re-appears on the surface, at the bottom of de- 
clivities — spring water. But springs are some- 
times observed under circumstances which are 
inconsistent with the supposition of their atmo- 
spheric origin. The boiling springs, which well 
up on the verge of perpetual snows, at an alti- 
tude of 13,000 above the level of the sea, as in 
the Himalayahs, cannot be derived from the 
atmosphere ; neither can the Icelandic Geysers 
have an atmospheric origin. Other sources, 
therefore, have been sought for, and the writer 
last referred to enumerates three, viz. the focus 
of volcanic activity, the great mass of the ocean 
or other masses of salt water, and subterranean 
reservoirs. 

Considered with reference to their tempera- 
ture, mineral waters are divided into cold and 
hot. The hot or thermal waters are those which 
possess a temperature more or less elevated above 
the mean of the latitude or elevation at which 
they are found, and the changes of which, if any, 
observe no regular periods coincident with the 
revolutions of the seasons. Three causes have 
been assigned as the source of the heat of mine- 
ral waters, viz. volcanic action now in existence ; 
volcanic action now extinguished, but the effects 



32 SHAEON SPRINGS. 

of which still remain; and a central source of 
heat which increases as we descend from the 
surface to the interior of the earth. The origin 
of the saline and other constituents is another 
interesting topic of inquiry connected with the 
natural history of mineral springs. As water, in 
its passage through the different strata of the 
earth, must come in contact with various sub- 
stances which are soluble in it, we refer certain 
constituents of mineral waters to solution and 
lixiviation merely, — as chloride of sodium, car- 
bonates of lime and magnesia, iodides and 
bromides of sodium and magnesium, iron, silica,. 
&c. Chemical action must, in some cases, be 
the source of other constituents. Thus, sulphu- 
reted hydrogen is probably produced by the 
action of water on some metallic sulphuret (es- 
pecially iron pyrites) ; sulphurous or sulphuric 
acid, from the oxidation and combustion of sul- 
phur, free or combined. 

Classification. — Mineral waters may be ar- 
ranged according to their temperature, their 
chemical composition, or their medicinal pro- 
perties. But hitherto no satisfactory classifica- 
tion has been made by any of these methods, 
nor perhaps can it be effected. 

We will now consider the individual medici- 



SHAEON SPRINGS. 33 

nal substances contained in the White Sulphur 
Spring of Sharon, premising some observations 
on sulphurous waters in general. 

These waters are impregnated with hydro- 
sulphuric acid (sulphureted hydrogen), in conse- 
quence of which they have the odor of decayed 
eggs, and cause black precipitates (metallic sul- 
phurets) with solutions of the salts of lead, sil- 
ver, copper, bismuth, &c. Those sulphurous 
waters, which, after ebullition, retain their power 
of causing these precipitates, contain in solution 
a sulphuret (hydro-sulphuret), usually calcium 
or sodium, which is the case with sulphur water 
at Sharon. 

All the British sulphurous waters are cold, 
but some of the continental ones are thermal. 
The most celebrated sulphurous waters of Eng- 
land are those of Harrowgate ; of Scotland, those 
of Moffat and Eothsay. 

Dr. Pereira observes: "The general opera- 
tion of the sulphurous waters is stimulant, and 
is adapted for chronic complaints. They are 
supposed to possess a specific power over the 
cutaneous and uterine systems. They are em- 
ployed both as external and internal agents in 
chronic skin diseases (as lepra, psoriasis, scabies, 
pityriasis, herpes, &c.) 5 in derangements of the 



34 SHARON SPRINGS. 

uterine functions (amenorrhoea and chlorosis), in 
old syphilitic cases, in chronic rheumatism and 
gout, and in other diseases in which sulphur and 
its compounds have been found serviceable. 
On account of their stimulant effects, they are 
contra-indicated in all plethoric and inflamma- 
tory conditions of the system, and their employ- 
ment requires caution, especially in weak and 
irritable constitutions." 

1. Let us now advert to the physiological 
effects of the medicinal agents contained in 
Sharon sulphur water. And as sulphate of 
magnesia stands at the head of the list in the 
analysis, I shall examine its physiological effects 
first, which, by the by, is all I design to do at 
this time. 

In moderate doses, sulphate of magnesia is a 
mild and perfectly safe antiphlogistic purgative, 
which promotes the secretions as well as the 
peristaltic motion of the alimentary canal. It is 
very similar in its operation to sulphate of soda, 
and is less likely to nauseate or otherwise disorder 
the digestive functions, while it acts somewhat 
more speedily on the bowels. It does not occa- 
sion nausea and griping, like some of the vege- 
table purgatives, nor has it any tendency to give 
rise to febrile disorder or inflammatory symp- 



SHARON SPKESTGS. 35 

toms ; but, on the other hand, it has a refrige- 
rant influence, — hence it is commonly termed a 
cooling powder. In small doses, largely diluted 
with aqueous fluids, it becomes absorbed, and 
slightly promotes the action of other emuncto- 
ries. ^Thus, if the skin be kept cool, and mode- 
rate exercise be taken, it acts as a diuretic. To 
state all the cases in which it is administered 
would be to enumerate nearly the whole cata- 
logue of known diseases. 

2. The sulphate of lime, the second ingredient 
in the analysis, has no effect upon the animal 
economy unless it is absorbed by the veins of the 
stomach before it is precipitated from the other 
substances which cause it to be held in solution. 
I have reason to believe, that as soon as the 
temperature of the water is raised by the sto- 
mach, the sulphate of lime is precipitated, and 
passes down with the faecal matter, producing no 
effect whatever. Many persons have an idea 
that the sulphate of lime has an injurious effect on 
the kidneys and urinary organs, but I can assure 
them that this supposition is entirely fallacious. 

2. Chloride of sodium, or common salt, the 
third ingredient, serves some essential ends in 
the animal economy. It is employed on ac- 
count of its agreeable taste by the most refined 



36 SHARON SPRINGS. 

as well as the most barbarous nations ; but the 
qnantity taken varies with different individuals. 
It is an invariable constituent of the healthy- 
blood. Dr. Stevens has shown that in certain 
states of disease (as cholera) there is a deficiency 
of the saline matter in the blood, which in those 
cases has a very dark or black appearance. Some 
of the characters of the sanguineous fluid, such 
as its fluidity, its stimulating qualities, and its 
conservative properties, are probably more or 
less connected with its saline constituents. The 
chloride of sodium found in some of the secre- 
tions, as the bile and tears, doubtless serves 
some important purpose. It is said that persons 
who take little or no salt with their food are very 
subject to intestinal worms. Lord Somerville, 
in his address to the Board of Agriculture, states 
that the ancient laws of Holland ordered a diet 
of bread alone, unmixed with salt, as the sever- 
est punishment that could be inflicted upon 
criminals in their moist climate. The effect 
was horrible. These wretched victims are said 
to have been devoured by worms engendered in 
their stomachs. Mr. Marshall tells us of a lady 
who had a natural aversion to salt: she was 
most dreadfully affected with worms during the 
whole of her life. 



SHARON SPRINGS. 37 

In some diseases the moderate use of salt has 
the effects of a tonic. It acts as a stimulant to 
the mucous membranes, the absorbent vessels 
and glands. In its endosmotic action on the 
tissues and on the blood-corpuscles, common 
salt agrees with other saline substances before 
mentioned. 

Hydro-Sulphuret of Calcium and Hydro-Sul- 
phuret of Sodium. — Sulphur, sulphureted hy- 
drogen, and the alkaline sulphurets produce 
similar effects. By the inhalation of sulphu- 
reted hydrogen gas, or the vapor of hydro- 
sulphuret of ammonia, as well as by the inges- 
tion of the alkaline sulphurets, the blood as- 
sumes a dark color, — an effect which, in the 
case of sulphureted hydrogen, Liebig ascribes 
to the action of this gas on the iron in the 
blood. When the alkaline sulphurets are swal- 
lowed, a portion suffers decomposition by the 
acids of the stomach, and consequently an evo- 
lution of sulphureted hydrogen takes place. 
The undecomposed portion is absorbed and 
eliminated by the kidneys ; but during its pas- 
sage through the system a certain quantity 
undergoes oxidation, and is converted into a 
sulphate. Sulphur taken into the stomach is, for 
the most part, evacuated by the bowels; but 



38 SHARON SPRINGS. 

some portion is absorbed, and may be detected 
in the secretions. In the urine it is found as 
sulphate and sulphuret. It is probable, there- 
fore, that by the mutual action of sulphur and 
the soda of the bile, sulphuret of sodium and 
sulphate of sodium are formed, and that these 
are subsequently absorbed. The different pre- 
parations of sulphur, when employed medici- 
nally, promote the action of the secreting or- 
gans, their influence being directed principally 
to the skin and mucous membranes. They have 
been supposed to possess a specific stimulating 
influence over the pelvic venous system. Their 
influence over the skin is undoubted, and their 
efficacy in chronic cutaneous diseases has long 
been established. 

SHARON MAGNESIA SPRING. 

Bicarbonate of Magnesia — Physiological Ef- 
fects. — When taken internally, magnesia neu- 
tralizes the free acids contained in the stomach 
and intestines, and forms therewith soluble mag- 
nesian salts. In full closes it acts as a laxative ; 
but as it occasions very little serous discharge, 
Dr. Paris ranks it among purgatives which urge 
the bowels to evacuate their contents by an 



SIIARON SPRINGS. 39 

imperceptible action upon the muscular fibres. 
Part of its laxative effect probably depends on 
the action of the soluble magnesian salts, which 
it forms by union with the acids of the alimen- 
tary canal. Magnesia exercises an influence 
over the urine analogous to that of the alkalies ; 
that is, it diminishes the quantity of uric acid in 
the urine, and when continued for too long a 
period occasions the deposit of earthy phos- 
phates in the form of white sand. On account 
of its greater insolubility it requires a longer 
time to produce these effects than the alkalies. 
As an antacid it is as efficacious as the alkalies, 
while it has an advantage over them in being 
less irritant and not caustic, and therefore is not 
apt to disorder the digestive organs. Hence it 
is administered to relieve heartburn arising 
from, or connected with, the secretion of an 
abnormal quantity of acid by the stomach. Its 
efficacy is best seen in persons of a gouty or 
rheumatic diathesis, in which the urine contains 
excess of uric acid. It often relieves the head- 
ache to which such individuals are not unfre- 
quently subject. It is most efficacious in dimi- 
nishing the quantity of uric acid in the urine in 
calculous complaints ; and, according to Mr. W. 
T. Brande, it is sometimes effectual where the 



40 SHARON SPRINGS. 

alkalies have failed. It will be found of great 
value in those urinary affections in which alka- 
line remedies are indicated, but in which potash 
and soda have given rise to dyspeptic symp- 
toms. 

The Magnesia water owes its cathartic pro- 
perties to the bicarbonate of magnesia combined 
with the sulphate of magnesia, which renders 
the Magnesia water more laxative than the Sul- 
phur water. "Whilst the Magnesia water is more 
laxative, and better adapted to acute diseases 
requiring antiphlogistic remedies, the Sulphur 
water is stimulating and alterative, and hence 
more serviceable in chronic diseases. 

As the other ingredients in the Magnesia 
water have been described when speaking of 
the medicinal ingredients contained in the Sul- 
phur water, I shall say nothing more concerning 
them under this head. 

CHALYBEATE SPRING. 

Situated upon the property of Leroy Eldredge, the propri- 
etor of the Union Hall. 

This spring has been recently discovered, and 
has been properly curbed by the intelligent and 
accommodating proprietor. 



SIIAKON SPRINGS. 41 

Analysis. — Sulphate of magnesia. 
Sulphate of soda. 
Sulphate of lime. 
Sulphate of iron. 

The use of chalybeate waters is indicated in 
cases of debility, especially when accompanied 
by that condition of the system known as 
anemia. They have long obtained a high ce- 
lebrity for the relief of complaints peculiar to 
the female sex. Their employment is contra- 
indicated in plethoric, inflammatory, and febrile 
conditions of the system. Iron exists naturally 
in the hematosin, or coloring matter of the blood. 
It has been maintained by some that the red 
color of hematosin does not depend upon the 
iron which it contains. "Without iron, hemato- 
sin could not exist, any more than albumen 
could continue to be albumen when deprived 
of nitrogen. 

In a case which came under my own obser- 
vation, the blood of an anemic girl was found, 
before the use of iron, to contain only 50 parts 
of globules in 1000, instead of 120, the normal 
average. The ammonio-citrate of iron was pre- 
scribed, in five doses, three times a day. After 
it had been continued for a month, the blood 
was again analysed, and the amount of cor- 



42 SHARON SPRINGS. 

puscles found to have increased to 76 parts. 
After another month, they had reached 100. 

When treating of eliminatives, I spoke of the 
cutaneous system, and intimated my intention 
of considering the anatomy and physiology of 
the skin before coming to the subject of baths. 
I propose now briefly to describe the skin and 
its functions. 

Anatomical Divisions of the Shin. — The skin 
consists of two main layers, — the external, called 
epidermis, cuticle, or scarf skin ; and the inter- 
nal, called cutis vera, or true skin, which con- 
tains the perspiratory and sebaceous or oil- 
secreting glands. 

The Trice Shin. — The dermis, or true skin, 
consists of a dense elastic tissue, with numerous 
openings for the transmission of blood-vessels 
from its under surface, and of an intricate net- 
work of minute blood-vessels, sensory nerves, 
and lymphatic or absorbent vessels distributed 
over its upper surface. This network is some- 
times called the papillary layer. The dermis 
also contains in its substance the sebaceous fol- 
licles, and transmits the ducts of the sudorife- 
rous or sweat glands that lie beneath it. The 
papillary layer of the dermis consists of minute 



SHARON SPRINGS. 43 

conical prominences, very irregularly distribut- 
ed. The papillae are sometimes collected into 
masses, and arranged in parallel rows, giving 
rise to the ridges and furrows seen upon the 
palm of the hand and sole of the foot. The 
dermis, or true skin, varies in thickness in differ- 
ent parts of the body, being most dense on the 
back, outer sides of the limbs, palms of the 
hands, and soles of the feet ; and contrasting, in 
this particular, with the inner side of the limbs, 
the breast, and the back of the hands, and the 
eyelids. The thickness in these cases sometimes 
arises from the dense substratum of the true 
skin, or corion proper, and sometimes, as where 
great delicacy of touch and sensation is required, 
from increase of the substance of the papillae 
themselves. Of the profuse supply of blood to 
the true skin, by the interweaving of innumera- 
ble fine blood-vessels or capillaries, and of the 
nervous tissue on which sensitive impressions 
are made, we can form an idea from the fact, 
that in no part of the surface can the point of 
the finest needle penetrate without blood being 
drawn, and pain felt. 

The Epidermis or Cuticle. — The external layer 
of the skin, called epidermis or cuticle, is formed 
by the exudation of cells from the papillary layer, 



44 SHARON SPRINGS. 

which is at first soft, but afterwards becomes hard 
and horny in its texture, and disposed in a scaly 
or imbricated form. It consists of several la- 
minae, the outer of which exhibit the usual cha- 
racteristic features of the epidermis, being hard 
and unorganized; while the inner, or those in 
contact with the papillary layer, are soft and 
cellular. The latter was for a long time described 
as a separate layer, and was called the rete mu- 
cosum, and considered as the seat of the color of 
the skin. It is now ascertained, however, that 
the pigment cells are scattered through the ordi- 
nary epidermic cells in the under laminse of the 
epidermis, and contiguous to the papillary layer 
of the dermis. On the presence of this pigment 
in the cells of the epidermis depend the different 
tints of color of the skin, observable in different 
races and nations. Owing to the peculiar tex- 
ture of the epidermis, its superficial laminae are 
continually removed by attrition, and new ones 
are as continually formed on its internal surface. 
This outer layer of the skin is accurately modelled 
on the papillary layer, and each papilla has its 
appropriate sheath in the newly-formed epider- 
mis. 

The epidermis is pierced by the excretory 
ducts of the sweat glands and sebaceous folli- 



SHARON SPRINGS. 45 

cles, which, as already remarked, lie in the true 
skin, and immediately beneath it, and also by 
the shafts of the hair. The number of its la- 
minae is increased, or in other words it becomes 
thicker, in proportion as the surface is rubbed 
and exposed to pressure, by which the true skin 
is excited to increased secretion in order to pro- 
tect the parts most subjected to attrition and 
pressure, — as the soles of the feet and palms of 
the hands. It is thinnest on the tips of the 
fingers and on the lips, — parts in which sensi- 
bility is required. The obvious use of the epi- 
dermis is to protect the true skin, which is 
extremely sensitive to impressions from foreign 
bodies or extremes of temperature. Of this 
every one has had experience in cases where 
the epidermis has been accidentally peeled off, 
or removed by disease or by a blister. As 
normally constituted, it allows of a closer con- 
tact with the substance to be examined, by a 
greater pressure and firmer grasp and diversi- 
fied handling, so that a more definite perception 
of its properties is obtained without any sensa- 
tion of pain. 

The Sudoriferous or Sweat Glands. — The su- 
doriferous, or perspiratory, or sweat glands are 
small, oblong, rounded bodies, in some cases 



46 SHAKON SPRINGS. 

sacs, situated on the tissue beneath the skin. 
Under the microscope these bodies present the 
appearance of a solitary tube intricately coiled, 
one end of which is closed and usually buried 
within the gland, the other emerges from the 
gland and opens on the skin. The outer end 
passes through the dermis, and opens obliquely 
by a pore upon the surface of the epidermis, or 
scarf skin, so that the orifice is covered by a 
minute valve of this outer layer of the skin. 
The convoluted tube of which the gland con- 
sists, forms a kind of knot ; it is copiously sup- 
plied with blood-vessels, and lined by a pro- 
longation of the epidermis. The pores are visi- 
ble to the naked eye upon the palm of the hand, 
the sole of the foot, and the extremities of the 
fingers. They are ranged along the little ridges 
of sensory papillse, and give to the latter the 
appearance of being crossed by transverse lines. 

Perspiration^ and Extent of the Perspiratory 
Tubes. — From these glands the watery and sa- 
line fluid of perspiration is constantly secreted. 
The following minute estimates by Mr. Wilson, 
in his Practical Treatise on Healthy Skin, are 
curious and interesting : — 

"Taken separately, the little perspiratory tube, 
with its appended gland, is calculated to awaken 



SHARON SPRINGS. 47 

in the mind very little idea of tlie importance of 
the system to which it belongs; but when the 
vast numbers of similar organs composing this 
system are considered, we are led to form some 
notion, however imperfect, of their probable 
influence on the health and comfort of the in- 
dividual. I use the words ' imperfect notion' 
advisedly ; for the reality surpasses imagination, 
and almost belief. To arrive at something like 
an estimate of the value of the perspiratory 
system, in relation to the rest of the organism, I 
counted the perspiratory pores on the palm of 
the hand, and found 3,528 in a square inch. 
Now, each of these pores being the aperture of 
a little tube of about a quarter of an inch long, 
it follows that in a square inch of skin on the 
palm of the hand, there exists a length of tube 
equal to 882 inches, or 73J feet. Surely such 
an amount of drainage as 73 feet in every square 
inch of skin, assuming this to be the average for 
the whole body, is something wonderful; and 
the thought naturally intrudes itself, — What if 
this drainage were obstructed ? Could we need 
a stronger argument for enforcing the necessity 
of attention to the skin ? 

" On the pulps of the fingers, where the ridges 
of the sensitive layer of the true skin are some- 



48 SHARON SPRINGS. 

what finer than on the palm of the hand, the 
number of pores on a square inch a little ex- 
ceeded that of the palm ; and on the heel, 
where the ridges are coarser, the number of 
pores on the square inch was 2,268, and the 
length of tube 567 inches, or 47 feet. To ob- 
tain an estimate of the length of tube of the 
perspiratory system of the whole surface of the 
body, I think that 2,800 might be taken as a fair 
average of the number of pores in the square 
inch ; and 700 consequently as the number of 
inches in length. Now, the number of square 
inches of surface in a man of ordinary height 
and bulk is 2,500 ; the number of pores, there- 
fore, 7,000,000 ; and the number of inches of 
perspiratory tube, 1,750,000, — that is, 145,833 
feet, or 48,600 yards, or nearly 28 miles." 

Sebaceous or Oil-Forming Glands. — The seba- 
ceous or oil-forming glands, which are included 
in the above calculation of Mr. Wilson, are small, 
oblong bodies, closely resembling the perspira- 
tory glands; and sometimes they are short, 
straight follicles or pouches, seated in the sub- 
stance of the dermis. Their excretory or termi- 
nal ducts open, in the largest numbers, in a hair 
follicle. In the hairy parts of the skin, we 
usually find a pair of sebaceous follicles open- 



SHARON SPRINGS. 49 

ing into the passage through which every hair 
ascends. In general the sebaceous tubes are 
straighter and wider than the perspiratory ones. 
They are absent in the palm and sole, but 
abound in the face and nose, the head, the ears, 
the borders of the eyelids, the armpits, and the 
natural outlets of the body, &c. The purpose 
of the sebaceous secretion is to keep the skin 
soft and pliable, and to prevent its being dried 
and cracked by the influence of the sun and air, 
and also to protect parts much exposed to fric- 
tion. This oily fluid is much more abundantly 
formed in the races of mankind that live in warm 
climates than in those that inhabit cold ones. 
Its presence on the skin causes the water, when 
a person is bathing, to form itself into separate 
drops or globules on the surface of the body ; 
and it imparts also a certain degree of greasi- 
ness to a garment that has been worn for a 
length of time next the skin. 

The sebaceous tubes are frequently the seat 
of a curious parasite or animalcule (Entozoon 
folliculorum), which Mr. Wilson represents to be 
present in great numbers on the inhabitants of 
cities and large towns, whose skin is more or less 
torpid in its functions. lie has found it in all 
periods, from youth to old age ; more nnmeronsly. 



50 SHARON SPRINGS. 

it is true, in the latter than in the former period, 
and in great and remarkable numbers during 
sickness. He is disposed to regard it as answer- 
ing a salutary purpose, by helping to keep open 
the over-distended cells and tubes, which, in the 
persons referred to, become impacted with hard- 
ened sebaceous matter, and which are in this 
way irritated and sometimes inflamed. 

FUNCTIONS OF THE SKIN. 

1. Continuity of the Shin with the Mucous 
Membranes. — In order to be able to appreciate 
fully the nature and importance of the functions 
of the skin, we ought to be. aware that it is 
continuous with the membranes which line the 
internal cavities of the body, on and through 
which the functions of digestion, respiration, and 
nutritive absorption are performed. These mem- 
branes are called mucous on account of the se- 
cretion of the mucous fluid by which they are 
lubricated. One division, after lining the mouth, 
passes down and lines the stomach and the whole 
tract of the intestinal canal, giving out prolonga- 
tions in its course to the excretory ducts of the 
liver and pancreas, as, in the mouth, it had done 
to the excretory ducts of the glands which fur- 



SHARON SPRINGS. 51 

nisli saliva. Another division passes from the 
nose and back part of the throat into the wind- 
pipe, and thence into the cavities of the lungs, 
to which it gives a lining as far as their minut- 
est divisions. The system of the mucous mem- 
branes, or the mucous system as it is generally 
called, is not only directly continuous with the 
skin at the various orifices, mouth, nose, &c, 
but it also resembles the latter closely in struc- 
ture, consisting of an investing membrane (Epi- 
thelium), analogous to the epidermis externally, 
and of a reticulated tissue of blood-vessels, nerves, 
and follicles, bound up in areolar tissue, and rest- 
ing on a denser tissue of the same nature as the 
areolar, which takes the place of the corion of 
the skin. Another but smaller division of mu- 
cous membranes lines the urinary and genital 
organs, and is, like the other divisions of the 
mucous system, continuous with the skin, which 
it also resembles in structure, and with which it 
has a close sympathy both in health and disease. 
Absorption ~by the Shin. — The skin is, more- 
over, an apparatus for the performance of the 
functions of absorption (by which various sub- 
stances, gaseous, fluid, and solid, are introduced 
into the body), and also of those of secretion and 
exhalation, by which various matters are elimi- 



52 SHARON SPRINGS. 

nated, either for special uses, or because their 
retention would be prejudicial to health. In 
virtue of its first or absorbent function, it be- 
comes an organ of supply for the wants of the 
animal economy : and in this way it allows of 
the entrance of oxygen gas, and of water, and of 
numerous saline substances when they are held 
in solution by water. Nitrogen gas and car- 
bonic acid are also absorbed by the skin. Most 
of the articles, indeed, of the materia medica 
may be introduced in this way into the blood, 
and produce their distinctive effects on the dif- 
ferent organs in the same manner, although 
with not so much certainty of operation, as if 
they had been taken into the stomach. In cer- 
tain cases, as of sailors in open boats, when fresh 
water cannot be procured, the pangs of thirst 
have been assuaged by keeping the skin wet 
with sea water. In other cases, in which, owing 
to obstruction by disease, as in the instance re- 
lated by Dr. Currie, the patient was unable to 
swallow, the emaciation has been arrfested and 
the thirst removed by the use of nutritive clys- 
ters, and prolonged immersion in a tepid bath 
of milk and water. Immersion in the warm bath 
causes both cutaneous absorption as well as ex- 
halation from the skin ; but as, notwithstanding 



SHARON SPRINGS. 53 

the loss by the double exhalation, the weight of 
the body is increased by the bath, there must be 
a real gain by absorption. The hard and scaly 
epidermis, or cuticle, retards the introduction of 
fluid into the general system ; but after a while 
it is permeated by the latter, as in the instance 
of the feet being soaked in warm water, when 
the thick cuticle of the sole becomes whitened 
and opaque, and allows a quantity of fluid to 
exude if pressure be then made upon it. 

A further example of nutritive absorption by 
the skin is exhibited by the experiment of tying 
a bandage round the hind leg of a puppy, and 
then keeping the limb for twenty-four hours in 
tepid milk. At the expiration of this time the 
lymphatic vessels are found full of milk. I do 
not deem it necessary in this place to inquire 
into the relative parts performed by the veins 
and lymphatics respectively in the function of 
cutaneous absorption. Frogs, whose skins are 
thin, and lizards, which have a cuticle thicker 
than that of man, after having lost weight by 
being kept for some time in a dry atmosphere, 
are found to recover both their weight and 
plumpness very rapidly when immersed in wa- 
ter. An immersion of even a part of the body 
will be followed by the absorption of the water, 



54 SHARON SPRINGS. 

and its distribution throughout the entire sys- 
tem. 

Endermic Medication. — When the epidermis 
is raised by a blister or by hot water, and the 
true skin or dermis is exposed, substances ap- 
plied to the surface of the latter are readily 
absorbed. Advantage has been taken of this 
fact by the introduction, in this way, of various 
medicines into the general system, constituting 
what is called endermic medication. This me- 
thod is especially useful when, owing to me- 
chanical obstruction, the medicine cannot be 
swallowed, or in the case of an inflamed and 
irritable stomach which prevents its being re- 
tained. 

Secretion and Exhalation by the STcin. — 
Equally conspicuous with the function of ab- 
sorption or supply is that of secretion, and of 
exhalation, depuration, or waste, as performed 
by the skin. Its appropriate secretions have 
been already mentioned. Some of these are for 
the formation of parts or appendages of the skin, 
as the epidermis or cuticle, and the nails; one 
is indirect, as the hair ; another, the sebaceous, 
contributes directly to the healthy state of the 
skin ; while the secretions of perspiration and of 
carbonic acid serve both to purify the blood by 



SHARON SPRINGS. 55 

the elimination of effete matters, and to exert 
an influence on the equalization of animal heat. 
We may infer that the oleaginous jnatter se- 
creted by the sebaceous glands and follicles, 
besides its immediate purpose of lubricating the 
skin, and protecting the borders of the eyelids 
and the ear-passages, at which parts it is thick 
and abundant, is also an excretion, the removal 
of which from the blood is necessary to health. 
But the chief depurating processes are, the 
elimination of the perspirable fluid or sweat, 
and of carbonic acid. 

Mention has already been made of the im- 
mense extent of the tubes of the sudoriferous or 
sweat glands, from which a secretion is con- 
stantly going on. Commonly the fluid is formed 
so gradually that the watery portion escapes im- 
perceptibly, in the form of vapor, as fast as it 
reaches the surface. It is then called insensible 
perspiration. But during violent exercise, ex- 
posure to great external heat, in certain cases 
of disease, and when the air is already so loaded 
with moisture as to be incapable of receiving 
more, or when evaporation is prevented by the 
application of oiled silk or plaster, the secretion 
becomes sensible perspiration, and collects in 
drops on the skin. Insensible perspiration con- 



58 SHARON SPRINGS. 

sists, besides watery vapor, of carbonic acid and 
acetate of ammonia. The fluid of sensible per- 
spiration, or sweat, holds in solution various sa- 
line substances, viz. phosphates of soda and lime, 
carbonate of lime, chloride of sodium (common 
salt), sulphate of soda, muriate of ammonia, 
and some potash, and lactic and acetic acids. 
Traces of iron and an animal matter have also 
been met with. These substances, however, are 
not all present at the same time. The acid re- 
action and sour smell of sweat are due, it is 
said, to lactic acid. In the above is included 
the secretion from the sebaceous glands, which 
is necessarily mixed with the sweat, — at any 
rate, it is absorbed by the clothing in common 
with this latter fluid. One of the experiments 
made by Mr. Thenard was on the perspiration 
collected in a flannel shirt which had been 
washed in distilled water. 

Perspirable Matter given out ~hy the Shin. — 
It is not necessary that I should repeat here the 
details of the experiments of Seguin, of La- 
voisier, and others, nor those of Sanctorius at an 
earlier date, in order to determine the quantity 
of perspiration, and mainly that in the form of 
watery vapor, in a given period. The two great 
surfaces for the exhalation of watery vapor from 



6HABQH SPRINGS. 57 

the body, are those of the skin and of the mu- 
cous or lining membrane of the lungs, — the 
pulmonary mucous membrane, as it is generally- 
called. The entire loss by exhalation from the 
lungs and skin, during twenty-four hours, seems 
to average about three pounds and a half ; and 
as the pulmonary exhalation is usually some- 
what less than a third, and the cutaneous some- 
what more than two thirds, the average daily 
loss from the skin may be estimated at two and 
a half pounds. Of this quantity not more than 
a sixth, however, is furnished by the vital pro- 
cess of secretion from the perspiratory glands ; 
the greater part is the product of the simple 
evaporation of moisture which exudes from the 
skin, unaccompanied by the saline and animal 
matters and acids of the glandular secretion. 

The discharge from the skin, or cutaneous ex- 
halation, is less active when the digestion is 
impaired. It is most abundant during the pe- 
riod of digestion, and least so immediately after 
food is taken. This exhalation is influenced 
both by the state of the atmosphere and by that 
of the body itself; being promoted by a dry 
atmosphere and by active muscular exertion, 
and diminished in a moist atmosphere and by 
repose and indolence. The organs whose func- 

3* 



58 SHARON SPRINGS. 

tion most influences the skin are the kidneys, 
There is a direct reciprocity between cutaneous 
and urinary excretions, the deficiency of one 
being compensated by the increased action of 
the other, and this not merely in regard to the 
amount of fluid which they carry away from the 
blood, but also in respect to the solid matter 
which they eliminate from it. 

It appears that at least one hundred grains of 
effete azotized matter are daily thrown off from 
the skin ; and any cause which checks this ex- 
cretion must increase the labor of the kidneys, 
or produce an accumulation of noxious matter 
in the blood. Hence attention to the functions 
of the skin, at all times a matter of great impor- 
tance, is peculiarly necessary in the treatment 
of urinary diseases ; and. it will often be found 
that no means is so useful in removing the lithic 
acid deposit as copious ablution and friction of 
the skin, combined with exercise. The same 
observation applies also to Bright's disease or 
albuminuria, to the accession of which sup- 
pressed perspiration and intemperance so pow- 
erfully contribute. 

The Shin a Respiratory Organ. — The skin, 
by absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere and 
secreting carbonic acid, is, in fact, a respiratory 



SHARON SPRINGS. 59 

organ, and as such it aids the lungs in producing 
that change in the blood on which the arterial 
color and other characters of this vital fluid, 
and the evolution of animal heat, mainly de- 
pend. In some of the inferior animals, respira- 
tion is performed by the skin alone ; and in 
others, as in frogs, excision of the lungs is borne 
better than removal of the skin, although the 
quantity of carbonic acid exhaled by the cuta- 
neous and the pulmonary mucous membranes 
is exactly equal. The importance of the re- 
spiratory function of the skin, even in the higher 
animals, is further manifested by the fact that if 
its surface be covered with an impermeable var- 
nish, or if the body be inclosed in a caoutchouc 
dress, leaving the head exposed, they soon die 
as if asphyxiated, — the heart and lungs being 
gorged with blood, and their temperature during 
life gradually falling many degrees, sometimes 
as much as 30° F. below the ordinary standard. 
If the knowledge of these facts could be im- 
pressed upon the vast multitude of both rich and 
poor who neglect proper ablutions, they w T ould 
surely feel some alarm at their danger. They 
would reflect that their own skins must be 
thoroughly coated and the pores obstructed by 
a dense investing layer, the residue of perspira- 



60 SHARON SPRINGS. 

ble and sebaceous secretions, mixed witli de- 
tached scales of the cuticle, dust, and other 
matters floating in the atmosphere, all of which 
have been allowed to accumulate for years ; and 
they would seriously apply themselves to avert 
the consequences of their former neglect. 

Diseases from Interrupted Fitnctions of the 
Skin. — Every organ of the body is liable to 
inflammation, or some other form of disease, 
in consequence of disturbance or suspension of 
the cutaneous functions. This interruption is 
usually superinduced by the sudden or pro- 
longed impression of cold and moisture, and- 
especially by their partial application, as in a 
current of air. To this agency we may refer 
anginosa or throat affections, catarrh followed 
by acute bronchitis, pulmonary consumption, 
pericarditis, inflammation of the stomach and 
bowels, uterus, &c, rheumatism and gout, and 
not unfrequently fevers. Dyspepsia, with all its 
painful concomitants, is often kept up by the 
same cause. The operation of cold and moist- 
ure on the skin is rendered much more noxious 
when the impression suddenly alternates with 
either high solar or artificial heat, and when the 
skin is bathed in sweat after labor or other ex- 
hausting exercise. 



6HAR0K SPRINGS. 61 

Sympathy between the Skin and the Internal 
Organs. — The sympathy between certain por- 
tions of the skin and the internal organs is 
worthy of attention. "When the latter are dis- 
eased, the skin of the extremities is sometimes 
morbidly cold, and at other times burning hot, 
while the rest of the cutaneous surface preserves 
its normal temperature. , In certain fevers the 
skin of the epigastric region conveys to the 
hand of another person a sensation of great 
heat, while that on the limbs is little changed 
in this respect. The skin of the inside of the 
limbs, of the chest and abdomen, and along the 
spine, is warmer and more delicate and suscepti- 
ble than that of other parts. But there is no 
invariable connexion between temperature and 
tactile power or touch, since we find that the 
skin of the extremities is generally a few de- 
grees cooler than that of the trunk, though the 
delicacy of touch is incomparably superior in 
the former. As an organ of sense, and as con- 
nected with general sensation and volition, the 
skin is most powerfully affected in the portions 
covering the extremities ; hence the benefits 
derived from stimulating and irritating appli- 
cations to these parts when we desire to rouse 
the nervous system, and restore it to its accus- 



62 SHARON SPRINGS. 

tomed tone, as in cases of fainting or insensi- 
bility, stupor, and the like. 

The connexion between the organs in the 
cavity of the chest and the skin is such that 
impressions made on the portion of the latter 
lining the arm and covering the side below the 
armpit, have a strong influence on the lungs 
and heart. Exposure of this portion of the cu- 
taneous surface, common in children and fe- 
males from the absurd style of dressing, is a 
frequent cause of catarrh, croup, and affections 
of the pleura. * 

There is also a very intimate sympathy be- 
tween the skin of the inside of the thighs and 
that covering the inguinal regions and the lower 
bowels and uterus. Where there is much sus- 
ceptibility of these organs to disease, the skin 
should be well protected, in both sexes, by 
warm clothing. Every intelligent physician is 
aware of the effects produced on the genital and 
digestive apparatus by the application of blis- 
ters and other counter-irritants to the inside of 
the thighs. We meet with numerous evidences 
of active sympathy between the skin and mu- 
cous membranes, including the organs lined by 
these latter — the lungs, digestive apparatus 
with its glandular appendages, the salivary 



SHARON SPRINGS. 63 

glands, the liver and pancreas, and the uri- 
nary organs ; and consequently of the influence 
which it exerts over them, both in health and 
disease. 

A knowledge of the various and important 
offices performed by the skin in the animal 
economy must awaken our attention to the 
means by which they can be best preserved 
from disturbance or interruption. The primary 
organic conditions for this purpose are, a certain 
degree of activity of the circulation of the blood 
in the extended network of vessels, and of ful- 
ness of the nervous tissue, and especially of the 
papillae of the cutis vera, or true skin. Unless 
the first of these be secured the requisite secre- 
tions cannot take place ; the blood will fail to 
be purified by the removal of effete matter, and 
the whole system will in consequence suffer 
from disorder of all the functions. 

Bathing as a Purifier of the Shin. — It may 
be readily inferred from the description of the 
functions of the skin, that a large amount of 
excreted matter will accumulate on its surface 
in a short period, and give rise to effluvia both 
offensive to the smell and deleterious to the 
health of those coming within the range of its 
emanations, unless regular and thorough ablu- 



64 SHARON SPRINGS. 

tion be practised. To what extent the air is 
thus contaminated in crowded assemblages is 
rendered' painfully sensible in theatres, courts 
of law, public meetings, and in crowded church- 
es, especially in the evening, — to say nothing of 
fashionable parties and balls. Even in hospitals, 
w r ith all their real and imputed discomforts, as 
now arranged and managed, we rarely find so 
impure and deleterious an atmosphere as in any 
of the places of resort just mentioned, when 
crowded in the evenings. Fevers of the most 
malignant type have originated from the ani- 
mal matters thus discharged from the skin and 
lungs of a number of persons confined for any 
length of time in circumscribed space, with de- 
ficient ventilation. 

A peculiarly offensive effluvium radiates from 
the bodies of individuals who have been thus 
crowded together, even for some time after 
bathing has been had recourse to. Individuals, 
also, who, without being thus confined, have 
long neglected personal ablutions and change 
<5f garments, and have been addicted to the use 
of ardent spirits, are often so many wa]king 
sepulchres, whose emanations are far less tole- 
rable than those of the dissecting room itself. 
Some persons, who would resent the imputation 



SIIAEON SPRINGS. 65 

of uncleanliness, deceive themselves into a be- 
lief that if they overpower one odor by another, 
and conceal these animal emanations by vegeta- 
ble extracts and sweet waters, they fulfil all the 
requirements of the toilet. They have yet to 
learn the important lesson, that no essences, 
though each drop should be as costly as the 
grains of a diamond, can avail either to cleanse 
or to beautify, without the use of water, — the 
universal fluid, the true panacea for all bodily 
impurities. 



BATHS. 

We now come to a consideration of the bath 
as the third means of securing the performance 
of the cutaneous functions. 

The most simple and natural division of baths, 
as far as regards temperature, — that recognised 
by our sensations, and most applicable to the 
purposes of hygiene and of medicine, — is into 
cold, warm, and hot. The intermediate degrees 
between positive cold and warmth are vaguely 
expressed by the terms cool, temperate, and te- 
pid ; but for all practical purposes, it will be 
sufficient to include the two first of these under 



66 SHARON SPEINGS. 

the distinct head of cold, while the third, or te- 
pid, will be classed among warm baths. 

The cold bath ranges from 52° to 65° ; the 
tepid bath from 65° to 85°; the warm bath from 
85° to 97° ; the hot bath upwards of 97°. 

In the language of Dr. Steel, "A b&th at 
about 95° degrees Fahrenheit, whether of mine- 
ral or simple water, is a pleasant thing. It is 
cleansing, refreshing, and soothing; and like a 
pleasant ride, or the society of a long absent 
friend, is auxiliary to health." But it is not 
strictly a medicinal agent at this temperature. 
Chronic maladies are cured by instituting states 
or conditions incompatible with morbid action. 
The patient is conscious of no shock, no impres- 
sion, no inconvenience, no perceptible change. 
It is every way desirable in point of health and 
comfort; though not, at this temperature, effi- 
cient as a remedy. The invalid who has been 
forced from his home, and obliged to submit to 
the inconveniences of a place of public resort, 
does not come to be amused with remedies. He 
wants everything to tell on his disease. 

What, then, are the principles which should 
guide the invalid, or his physician, in the em- 
ployment of baths ? Will it be deemed a gra- 
tuitous or unfounded assertion to say that the 



SHAHON SPRINGS. 67 

faculty in general entertain very vague and un- 
settled views upon the application of baths to 
the removal of diseases. There are fixed opi- 
nions as to the use of the lancet, emetics, cathar- 
tics, blisters, anodynes, and tonics. But select 
a given patient, summon a dozen physicians in 
consultation, and ask for a decision; and if a 
majority pronounces in 'favor of the bath, let 
each assign the exact temperature, the length of 
time, and frequency of repetition, and you will 
find ample confirmation of the foregoing state- 
ment. Perhaps this discrepancy of opinion is 
only imaginary on the part of the writer. If so, 
he begs the indulgence of his brethren. Yet it 
is his honest belief, that if they would express 
their exact sentiments on this point, they would 
concur with him. 

This vague apprehension of the principles of 
baths is by no means confined to the profession. 
Every man has a creed. The invalid has his ; 
and the owners and attendants of the baths 
have theirs. Let a physician here order a bath 
of the proper temperature, and of such duration 
as to give a decisive blow to the disease, and 
the prescription will very possibly have to en- 
counter a dozen comments and as many con- 
demnations before the invalid reaches the bath- 



68 SHARON SPRINGS. 

house. And when arrived there great firmness 
and decision may be needed on the part of the 
patient, as well as unshaken confidence in the 
prudence and discrimination of his medical 
adviser, or these well-meaning and in other 
respects judicious attendants may obstruct the 
desired result. It may be necessary, too, for 
the patient or his friends to see with their own 
eyes that the thermometer stands at the point 
described. These intimations would appear 
unnecessary, but my professional experience has 
convinced me that they are by no means super- 
fluous. 

To describe fully the popular notions about 
baths would transcend my limits. One idea is 
almost universal, viz. that if a patient, whether 
feeble or strong, spare or plethoric, feels a glow 
after the cold or shower bath, it is the proper 
remedy. The mechanical effect of cold in con- 
tracting the muscular fibres, and the sensation 
of warmth, although the animal heat is for a 
long time actually lower than before the shock, 
are considered proof enough that the general 
effect is not only invigorating, but subversive 
of disease. There is a similar unity of opinion 
about the hot bath. If a person feels faint or 
feeble half an hour or an hour after leaving it, 



SHARON SPRINGS. 69 

or while in it, the measure is condemned, — al- 
though for hours the skin and cellular substance 
may contain two or three pounds of blood more 
than usual, to the great relief of the internal 
organs; while profuse and general perspiration 
may continue equally long, the lips and counte- 
nance become florid, the joints flexible, and a 
decided improvement be manifest after a few 
hours. 

The principle is simply this, that in all febrile 
and inflammatory diseases, whether acute or 
chronic, in short in all diseases in which the use 
of the lancet is admissible, there also will the 
cold, tepid, or shower bath be suitable ; and 
where the lancet would be injurious, there 
should the hot bath be used. The simplicity 
of this rule will probably startle some readers. 
It may be inquired, would you not take into the 
account such circumstances as plethoric habit, 
florid complexion, red tongue, the previous ef- 
fect of warm and cold applications, and of tonic 
or debilitating remedies ? Certainly. But I say 
most decidedly, and from many trials, that by 
throwing one's whole responsibility upon the 
exact condition of the pulse, and making this 
paramount to all other diagnostic symptoms, 
though not rejecting them as auxiliary guides, 



70 SHARON SPRINGS. 

a physician will be most effectually and infalli- 
bly aided by the powerful instrumentality of 
baths in the removal of disease. 

Let us apply this principle to some well 
known diseases, — for example, rheumatism. A 
member of Clark's expedition beyond the Rocky 
Mountains was cured of *an obstinate rheuma- 
tism, while remote from professional aid, by 
immersing himself once daily, for twenty-five 
days, in the river, through a hole cut in the ice. 
Each immersion was accompanied with sham- 
pooing and friction before a warm fire. A Mr. 
E. "W., of Rome, ~N. Y., having lost all hope 
of recovery, crawled to a river whose edges 
were covered with ice, and lay in the water as 
in a bath. The disorder received such an im- 
pression that he was speedily restored to health. 
Mr. N., of New York city, was accidentally 
thrown into the sea in winter, near Stratford 
Point, and cured of rheumatism. 

The hot bath, likewise, everybody knows to 
have been wonderfully efficacious in particular 
instances of this same complaint — rheumatism. 
The illustration of this principle in the treat- 
ment of rheumatism must suffice for all diseases. 
Disorders of the same name require, in different 
instances, the exhibition of different remedies. 



SHARON SPRINGS. 71 

As far as baths are concerned, a most scrupulous 
investigation of the pulse — carefully distinguish- 
ing when it is hard and wiry, and when soft and 
impressible — will form a safe guide in all ordi- 
nary cases. It should not be forgotten, how- 
ever, that the daily use of hot baths may prove 
so stimulating as to be inadmissible when the 
patient attains a certain degree of tone; nor 
that the sedative effects of cold baths may be 
carried so far as to necessitate their discontinu- 
ance. 

This, then, is my rule : If the pulse is hard — 
demanding calomel, Epsom salts, antimonials, or 
bleeding — whatever be the color or temperature 
of the skin, or the muscular strength, I pre- 
scribe a bath of from 65° to 85°, or cold shower, 
and have thus far had no reason to be dissatis- 
fied with the result. On the contrary, if the 
pulse is soft and slow, I have without hesitation 
prescribed the hot bath from 100° to 110°, with- 
out any untoward result, although great languor 
may have been experienced while in the bath. 
If the patient had cool, perspirable skin, pale 
face, pale lips and tongue, the hot bath proved 
still more clearly beneficial. 

Whatever may be the result of future obser- 
vations, I can truly say that thus far, since 



72 SHAEON SPRINGS. 

adopting this simple criterion, the ordering of 
baths has ceased with me to be a matter of pain- 
ful uncertainty ; and, moreover, that I have ex- 
perienced extreme gratification in finding that 
when an accurate discrimination is made, and 
the remedy is boldly applied, from a low tem- 
perature up to 110°, according to the nature of 
each case, it has proved a much more efficient 
auxiliary, and in many cases has been the main 
promoter of rapid convalescence. 

It will not be inappropriate in this place to 
append some considerations on the hygienic and 
therapeutical use of vapor bathing. 

Therapeutical Effects of Vapor Baths. — With- 
out endorsing the extravagant eulogies of San- 
chez on the remedial power of the vapor bath, 
we must admit that it is susceptible of far more 
frequent and diversified application than it com- 
monly receives in medical practice. Independ- 
ent of the different therapeutical results arising 
from the conditions of dryness or moisture, the 
bath must be taken into account. In eruptive 
fevers (Exanthemata) vapor bathing has been 
practised with considerable benefit, — the tem- 
perature and duration of the bath being modi- 
tied according to the stage of the disease, as in 
fevers generally. Much relief has been obtained 



SHARON SPRINGS. % 



from this remedy in the (edematous swelling so 
common after scarlet fever, and occasionally, 
also, after measles. Erysipelas, erythema urti- 
caria, and pemphygus, have also been treated 
with success by the same means. Rheumatism 
and gout, in their chronic forms, have long been 
adduced as diseases in which the greatest relief 
has been obtained by vapor baths, — both of the 
moist and dry kinds. M. Rapon speaks of the 
remedial powers of this agent with a confidence 
derived from his large experience of its effects 
in rheumatism, of which, he assures us, he has 
met with upwards of eight hundred cases in 
three years. Well may he describe this disease 
as endemic in Lyons, the city in .which he 
erected his fine establishment for vapor bathing, 
and in which he noted the cases that furnished 
him with his clinic. This writer refers to the 
early and wide-spread use of this variety of 
bathing, for the cure of rheumatism, in the 
north of Europe, — Russia, and Finland, and 
even in England, especially at Nottingham Hos- 
pital, also in G ermany and Italy, and more par- 
ticularly in Naples. 

We quote the following judicious remarks 
from M. Rapon, to show that, however success- 
ful in his treatment, he does not countenance 

4 



74 SHARON SPRINGS. 

extravagant expectations from the exclusive use 
of this remedy : — 

" Most commonly we obtain from the use of 
vapor baths alone, methodically directed, the 
effects which were promised ; but it sometimes 
happens that we are obliged to associate with 
them certain auxiliary means of more or less 
energy, which add to or modify their action and 
increase their efficacy. Thus, for example, by 
means of general blood-letting and leeches, sim- 
ple or medicated frictions, shampooing, flagella- 
tion, or even internal remedies appropriately 
administered, either preparatory to or conjointly 
with the vapor, I have succeeded in curing a 
great many diseases which would have proved 
intractable to these various means separately 
employed." 

These observations furnish a practical com- 
mentary on the absurd and mischievous exclu- 
sivism of those pretenders to the healing art 
who place their sole reliance for the cure of all 
diseases on one remedy or therapeutical agent, 
whether it be the vapor bath or hydropathy. 
Mr. Rapon, after having recourse to preliminary 
evacuations when he deemed them advisable, 
subjected his rheumatic patients, first, in a re- 
cumbent posture, to the oriental bath, as he 



SHARON SPRINGS. 75 

terms it, or moist vapor aromatized, and then to 
dry sulphur vapor, inclosing the body up to the 
neck in a case. Syphilitic rheumatism has been 
treated with marked benefit by means of the 
vapor bath. So, also, has been gouty rheu- 
matism, and rheumatism in which metastasis 
occurs. 

Gout, both acute and chronic, has been great- 
ly relieved by the remedy in question. In the 
acute form, Mr. Eapon applies lepches to the 
inflamed joint, and uses other sedative means 
before he has recourse to the bath. Scrofula in 
its various forms finds a valuable remedy in the 
vapor bath. Tumefactions of the lymphatic 
glands along the neck, especially those of a 
scrofulous nature, have been discussed by the 
vapor from salt water. 

In the complications of scrofula with syphi- 
lis, a condition of things more common than is 
generally supposed, and which is singularly dif- 
ficult to treat, vapor bathing, especially by dry 
and sulphurous fumigations, is unrivalled by 
any other remedy, as I shall soon have occasion 
to remark. 

Sulphurous Vapor. — I now propose to offer 
some remarks on dry medicated vapor, and par- 
ticularly on the variety in which sulphur is 



76 SHARON SPRINGS. 

sublimed and diffused in the heated air of the 
bath. The chief mineral substances employed 
in fumigation are sulphur, cinnabar (deuto-sul- 
phuret of mercury), calomel (protochloride of 
mercury), corrosive sublimate (deutochloride 
of mercury), the protoxide of zinc, deutoxide of 
arsenic, and sulphureted hydrogen gas (hydro- 
sulphuric acid). 

Sulphur, when projected upon a metallic 
plate of the temperature of 230° F., is con- 
verted into vapor without being decomposed. 
On raising the temperature to 300°, and di- 
recting a current of atmospheric air upon it, 
the sulphur burns with a bluish flame, and by 
combining with oxygen forms sulphurous gas. 
It is necessary, therefore, to modify the appara- 
tus, and regulate the heat of the metallic plate 
according as we wish to procure the one or the 
other of these results in the combustion of the 
sulphur. 

Although sulphurous fumigations had at an 
early date been recognised as a remedy for dis- 
eases of the skin, their therapeutic effects have 
only been ascertained with any degree of accu- 
racy since the first part of the present century. 
Passing over antecedent periods, we find Glau- 
ber, in 1659, making distinct reference to sul- 



SHARON SPRINGS. 77 

phur fumigations for the itch. To Gales, who 
was for a number of years apothecary to the 
Hospital of St. Louis, at Paris, the profession 
and the world at large are indebted for the 
introduction of sulphurous fumigations for the 
methodical and successful treatment of cutane- 
ous diseases. In 1812 he commenced a series 
of inquiries respecting the cause of the itch 
(Scabies), which he demonstrated, as, indeed, 
others had done before, to depend on the pre- 
sence of an insect, the acarus scabiei. He *next 
turned his attention to discover a remedy which 
would be safe, expeditions, and easy of applica- 
tion. The result was, not the discovery of a new 
remedy, but of the means of so applying an old 
one as to render its use general, and to remove 
the objections which had hitherto prevented its 
introduction into practice. His first trials (in 
the month of August, 1812) were, it must be 
acknowledged, with a very simple, but at the 
same time crude contrivance. It consisted 
merely of a heated pan, in which flowers of sul- 
phur, mixed with the nitrate of potash, were 
thrown, and the whole introduced under the 
bed-clothes, which were tucked in as close as 
possible about the body of the patient. 

The complication of various obstinate diseases 



78 SHARON SPRINGS. 

of the skin with scabies, and the radical cure of 
some of these, and the great amelioration of 
others, by the use of the fumigations instituted 
for the removal of the itch, gave a wider direc- 
tion to the inquiries of Gales. Sir A. Clark 
asserts that the effects of mercury, given for the 
cure of syphilis, are more prompt, diffusive, and 
benign, and that salivation is less apt to occur 
and is less violent, if combined with sulphurous 
fumigations and the common vapor bath. Ex- 
perience has now satisfied us, that for the cure 
of syphilis in its various stages, we may often 
rely on these adjuvants to the entire exclusion 
of mercury. In the secondary forms of the dis- 
ease, when the throat is the seat of ulcerations, 
or the skin of blotches, or still further, the 
system of fibrous nodes, syphilitic rheumatism, 
&c, the treatment by alternate sulphurous fumi- 
gations and moist vapor will often be attended 
with complete success. Ulcers, whether scrofu- 
lous or mercurial, or associated with depraved 
digestion, will yield to the same course, pro- 
vided a plain, light diet, and dilution by simple 
beverages, be observed at the same time. 

Among the numerous cases detailed by Assa- 
lini, in which he used the vapor bath and fumi- 
gations with decided success, were those of 



SHAKON SPRINGS. 79 

tumefaction of the inguinal glands, with and 
without syphilitic taint ; inflammation of the 
parotid gland; acute rheumatism in a joint or 
limb ; chronic rheumatism ; chlorosis ; ulcers 
after congelation of a part ; squamae in various 
forms, sometimes w T ith suppressed hemorrhoids, 
or with syphilitic or hepatic disorders ; cough, 
sometimes convulsive, at others with symptoms 
of incipient consumption ; hemiplegia and other 
forms of palsy ; gout; hepatic obstructions ; and 
sciatica (this last complicated with nausea in one 
case, and in another with hemoptysis). In a case 
of hypochondriasis with neuralgia, Assalini ob- 
tained the happiest results by the use of sul- 
phurous fumigations, and by substituting a light 
vegetable diet with fruit and milk, in place of 
aromatic and tonic tinctures, and a stimulating 
regimen. 

The temperature of the sulphur bath was 
generally about 100° F. In one instance, in 
which it was gradually raised from 95° to 104°, 
the patient, affected with pityriasis, sweated pro- 
fusely. Dr. Bardsley, in a report on the reme- 
dial efficacy of sulphurous fumigations, specifies 
the particular kinds of cutaneous disease in 
which he chiefly employed them, and with 
highly favorable results. These are scabies, im- 



80 SHARON SPRINGS. 

petigo, porrigo, prurigo, lepra, psoriasis, ichthy- 
osis, and pompholyx. 

Sulphureted hydrogen gas has been used by 
Rapon in the form of bath and douche. He 
protests against the common opinion of its being 
an excitant, like the vapor of sulphur and sul- 
phuric acid ; but on the contrary, it ought, he 
assures us, to be regarded as a cooling and seda- 
tive remedy of great value. 

Of the different mineral preparations which 
furnish materials for medicated vapor baths, 
the mercurial are the most employed. The 
fumes of cinnabar produce effects on the skin 
analagous to those of sulphur. Two drachms 
constitute the quantity requisite for a fumiga- 
tion. 



IT. 

INTERNAL USE OF THE SHARON WATER. 

We now proceed to offer some directions for 
the use of visitors on tlieir arrival at the 
Springs. 

The first inquiry made by the invalid after 
suitable lodgings are procured, is, of course, 
" How shall I take the waters ? Where begin ? 
What springs ; in what quantities ; and at what 
hours ?" These questions can be solved at every 
corner. In the language of the late Dr. Steel, 
" There are numerous persons who flock about 
the Springs during the season, without any 
knowledge of the composition of the waters, 
and little or none of their effects, who contrive 
to dispose of their directions to the ignorant 
and unwary, with no other effect than to injure 
the reputation of the waters, and disappoint the 
anticipations of the invalid." The public have 
long since decided, and correctly, that in a vast 
majority of diseases these waters should be 
taken with a primary regard to their cathartic 

4* 



82 SHARON SPRINGS. 

properties ; although they unavoidably prove at 
the same time diuretic, deobstruent, and even 
diaphoretic. When their effects are exerted on 
the kidneys or skin they sometimes produce a 
constipating effect ; yet it is their impression on 
the bowels which seems to make the most pal- 
pable inroad on existing disease. 

I know full well the risk I incur, owing to 
the peculiarities of individual constitution, in 
submitting a list of those diseases which I deem 
most fitted to the alterative action of the waters. 
Yet the reader is entitled to my opinion, such as 
it is ; ajid I therefore insert the following, with- 
out much regard to nosological arrangement, as 
comprising most of the diseases likely to be 
benefited by an aperient course of the mineral 
waters : Dyspepsia in all its forms ; constipa- 
tion; chronic diarrhoea ; hemorrhoids; jaundice; 
biliary calculi; palsy without inflammation of 
the brain ; hysteria ; hypochondriasis ; neural- 
gia, or nerve-ache, whether seated in the face, 
stomach, liver, bowels, uterus, or extremities ; 
chronic catarrh ; humid asthma ; nervous palpi- 
tations ; enlargement of the liver and spleen ; 
incontinence of urine ; gravel; leucorrhoea; irri- 
table uterus ; cutaneous eruptions ; rheumatism ; 
rheumatic enlargement and stiffness of the joints ; 



SHARON SPRINGS. 83 

diabetes ; prostrate and stationary conditions af- 
ter acute diseases ; dropsies ; vertigo ; periodical 
headache ; spinal irritation ; and stricture of the 
rectum. 

The next question is, What spring shall be 
selected ? It requires very little knowledge of 
medicine to understand that two persons who 
are laboring under the same chronic disease, 
owing to their individual peculiarities of consti- 
tution, recover by the use of very dissimilar 
remedies. Physicians have given the name of 
idiosyncrasy, or diathesis, to this peculiarity of 
constitution; and in order that the proner waters 
and baths should be adapted to the diathesis of 
each individual, it is necessary to consult the 
physician acquainted with its therapeutics. By 
referring to what has been said of the peculiar 
properties of each spring, it will be perceived 
that there is a great difference in the stimulating 
and bracing qualities of the various fountains. 
The White Sulphur is tonic, stimulating, and 
alterative, making it serviceable in all chronic 
and debilitated conditions of the system ; where- 
as the Magnesia water is antiphlogistic and alte- 
rative, while the Chalybeate is tonic and hema- 
tic. Although I wish to be understood as say- 
ing that chemical analysis can never supply the 



84 SHARON SPRINGS. 

place of a scrutinizing and guarded observation 
of medicinal effects, I can yet truly assert, that 
from six years' experience, I have found a most 
striking coincidence between results predicated 
on these two modes of discrimination. 

If the invalid is liable to fever, heat, or dry- 
ness of the skin, and is of a full habit, — if he 
bears abstinence well, — if bleeding, calomel, and 
salts are beneficial, — if tonic and stimulating 
medicines and heating diet injure him, — and 
above all, if his physician has frequently ob- 
served that his pulse is generally hard and in- 
compressible, he may safely conclude his dia- 
thesis to be inflammatory, and should resort to 
the Magnesia Spring for his morning draught. 
On the contrary, if he has a cool, pale skin, — 
is little irritated by medicines, — bears bleeding 
and other modes of reducing badly, — takes tonics 
well, — thrives on a generous meat diet, — and has 
a soft, slow pulse, he may turn at once to the 
Sulphur or the Chalybeate Spring. 

Should the waters in either case prove too 
stimulating, the patient will discover it by gra- 
dual loss of appetite, sense of fulness, general 
oppression, feverishness, and sometimes cholera 
morbus. In such a case the invalid often loses 
the whole expense and trouble of his journey by 



SIIARON SPRINGS. 85 

flying homewards in a panic, when a couple of 
days' abstinence from the water and from food, 
saline medicines and antimonials, and, in some 
rare instances, bleeding, will almost invariably 
remove the " water storm," and allow the pa- 
tient to complete a course of treatment at the 
Springs. 

The proper time to take these waters as a 
cathartic is in the morning, and in the morning 
only. The reasons are obvious. A period of 
sixteen hours has elapsed since the principal 
meal of the preceding day, and eleven hours 
from the repast of the evening. In people of 
weak or irritable stomachs, this is the only time 
in the twenty-four hours in which the digestive 
organs are not engaged in the solution or ab- 
sorption of aliment. This, then, is the precise 
period to interpose a mild, exhilarating, and 
efficient cathartic, and this should be taken so 
early and in such quantities as thoroughly to 
evacuate all the remains of the preceding day's 
digestion, and to make so much impression on 
the mucous membranes of the alimentary canal 
as to rectify the process of secretion itself. This 
is the true Abernethean road to health to multi- 
tudes of bilious and dyspeptic invalids ; and will 
continue to be the most approved method of 



86 SHARON SPRINGS. 

medication, notwithstanding the numerous and 
laudable efforts that are made by the fraternity 
to discover a better way. 

From two to four glasses is the proper quan- 
tity. In some rare cases of females, however, 
the stomach has not the capacity to contain even 
one glass before breakfast. Many men, on the 
other hand, can take eight and even ten half 
pints in the morning with ease and comfort. 
Whatever be the quantity that is ultimately 
found necessary by each person, it should be 
taken in three potions, and with short intervals 
between, occupying thirty or forty minutes in 
all. Brisk exercise, by walking or otherwise, 
is necessary during this time and for a short 
period afterwards ; and at least an hour — and 
better, an hour and a half — should elapse be- 
tween the last potation and breakfast. Many 
invalids do not see the necessity of drinking 
the water at the fountain. Yet the invalid 
shpuld never be deterred by indolence, irreso- 
lution, or imaginary fears from going to the 
spring, as it is far better to take the beverage 
from the fountain, while the spirits are enli- 
vened by the surrounding influences, and to 
take it fresh, too, from the bosom of the earth. 

In concluding the subject of the cathertic 



SHARON SPRINGS. 87 

effects of these waters, it should be added, that 
in case six or eight tumblers in the morning are 
found inadequate to produce the desired effect, 
it will not be advisable to take an additional 
quantity in the course of the day. Wait till the 
following morning; and even then do not in- 
crease the quantity of water; but aid its opera- 
tion by some thorough cathartic medicine. If 
the patient be of full habit, blue pills, taken for 
several evenings before going to bed, may be 
suitable, or active doses of calomel for two or 
three days at the same time. A table-spoonful 
of Epsom salts or a dose of calcined magnesia 
may be administered at bed-time, or with the 
first tumbler in the morning. In feeble habits, 
some of the compound gum-resinous pills or 
a few grains of rhubarb may be preferable. 
"Whatever article is selected as an auxiliary 
remedy, enough should be taken to insure a 
thorough operation, after which, in general, it 
will be preferable to continue the water alone. 
I would state here, before leaving this subject, 
that salines — i. e. salts of the alkaline and earthy 
metals — are all more or less purgative when 
given under certain conditions. In other cir- 
cumstances they may pass off from the body by 
the kidneys or the glands of the skin. Suppose, 



88 SHARON SPRINGS. 

then, the sulphate of soda or magnesia which is 
contained in the Sharon Springs to have ob- 
tained entry into the blood, it may be excreted 
by the kidneys or the bowels. The result ap- 
pears to depend mainly upon the amount of the 
dose. A small quantity may pass in the urine, 
and will not produce purging; but a large 
quantity cannot so pass ; it is excreted by the 
bowels, and acts as a purgative. 

It is not generally known at Sharon Springs 
that its mineral water is cholagogue in its na- 
ture, — i. e. it stimulates the action of the liver, 
and promotes the excretion of bile. There is no 
doubt that the function of the liver, regarded 
simply as a gland, is of great importance in the 
animal economy. We know that certain mat- 
ters are excreted from the system by that organ, 
which, if allowed to remain in the blood, as in 
the case of jaundice, are found to be hurtful. 
The great majority of intestinal diseases, as also 
of chronic blood-disorders, are associated with a 
torpidity or derangement of the function of the 
liver. "We find this to be the case with diarrhoea 
and constipation, with dysentery and cholera, 
as well as with ague and remittents, gout and 
rheumatism, and scrofula. I have witnessed in 
innumerable instances the beneficial effect of a 



SHARON SPRINGS. 89 

persevering use of the Sulphur water in these 
complaints. 

The best way to obtain the alterative effect 
of the Sulphur water on the liver and skin is to 
take it in such quantities as shall not purge, so 
that the waters shall be retained as long as pos- 
sible in the circulating mass, and in this way 
gradually produce a new condition of the solids 
and fluids, improving the strength, appetite, and 
color, and regulating the secretions of the sto- 
mach, bowels, liver, and kidneys. In the lan- 
guage of Dr. Steel, " To the long-continued 
invalid, who has painfully learned the difficulty 
of escaping from under the hands of disease, this 
mode of medication will seem at first view as 
consistent and rational. He has abandoned all 
hope of being cured by a few powerful doses of 
any medicine. His thoughts are upon a gradual 
removal of diseased processes, and restoration 
of healthy ones ; and if he is true to his own 
interests, he has come to a settled conviction that 
time is a necessary ingredient in his recovery, 
and to an equally settled determination that if 
a few weeks of hopeful amendment do not es- 
tablish his health, he will spend months or years 
in its attainment." 

But to return to the consideration of a perse- 



90 SHARON SPRINGS. 

vering use of the Sharon waters, and particularly 
as an alterative. This manner of using them 
consists in taking them in the quantity ordinarily 
of one tumbler, an hour before or just after each 
meal, and at the hour of rest. Two tumblers 
are not too much for an adult, provided they 
do not prove decidedly cathartic. The object 
is to keep the whole amount of saline matter, 
amounting to nearly thirty grains to each tum- 
bler, in the circulating fluids as long as possible. 
This method might be useful to very many ; but 
the cases in which, in my own experience during 
the six seasons " past, it has proved most happy, 
are those where the disease is of long standing, 
and where the system requires a tonic and in- 
vigorating course. 

RICHFIELD SULPHUR SPRING.— Otsego County. 

Analysis by Prof. Reed, of New York. 

One gallori contains, 

Bicarbonate of magnesia, - - - - 20 grains. 

Bicarbonate of lime, -----10 " 

Chloride of sodium and magnesium, - - 1.5 " 

Sulphate of magnesia, 30 

Hydro-sulphate of magnesia and lime, 2 

Sulphate of lime, ----- 90 

Solid contents, 153.5 grains. 

Sulphur eted hydrogen - - - - 20.6 inches. 



SHARON SPRINGS. 91 

AVON SPRING.— Livingston County. 

Analysis by Prof. Hadley. 

Sulphate of lime, - - - - - 84 grains. 

Sulphate of magnesia, ----- 10 " 

Sulphate of soda, ------ 16 " 

Carbonate of lime, ----- 8 " 

Muriate of soda, 18.4 " 

Solid contents, - - 136.4 grains. 

Carbonic acid, - - - - - -5.6 inches. 

Sulphureted hydrogen, - - - - 12 " 

17.6 inches. 

BEDFORD SPRING.— Pennsylvania. 

Analysis by Dr. Church, of Pittsburg. 

Sulphate of magnesia, - - - - - 80 grains. 

Sulphate of lime, - - - - - - 15 

Muriate of soda, ------ io 

Muriate of lime, ------ 3 

Carbonate of lime, ------ 8 

Carbonate of iron, - - - - . - 5 

Loss, ----.--3 

Solid contents, - - - - 124 grains. 

Carbonic acid, 7.4 in. 

In conclusion I would say, that the family 
physician should state fully and honestly to the 
patient the absolute necessity of a thorough and 



92 SHARON SPRINGS. 

extended trial of the waters. Experienced phy- 
sicians know very well that a complete medicine, 
which, by internal and external exhibition, can 
be made to operate as an alterative, deobstruent, 
antacid, aperient, diuretic, and tonic, should not 
be abandoned on a slight trial. They know, too, 
what their patients cannot appreciate, that time 
is absolutely necessary for the removal of deep- 
seated and long-continued maladies. How pre- 
posterous, then, for invalids who have been la- 
boring under the influence of disease for months 
or years, to hope that they can eradicate or ban- 
ish their complaint in one or two weeks ! 

I have been frequently asked by persons 
taking homoeopathic medicine, whether the use 
of the mineral water would interfere with its 
curative effects. To this inquiry I would answer 
that the homoeopathic doses will not interfere 
with any mineral water, or with anything else. 
The doctrine of homoeopathy is so absurd, that 
any man of common sense who should examine 
its claims would be disgusted with its doses, to 
say nothing of its principle — similia simililms 
curantur. The main facts to be urged against 
this doctrine may be reduced to four heads : — 

1st. Some of our best and most certain medi- 
cines cannot be regarded as homoeopathic. 



SJIARON SPRINGS. 93 

Thus, substances whicli destroy the itch-insect 
(Acarus scabiei) and thereby cure the itch, are 
incapable of producing this malady. Andral 
took quina in the requisite quantity, but with- 
out acquiring intermittent fever ; yet no person 
can doubt the fact of the great benefit to be de- 
rived from the employment of this agent in 
ague, — the paroxysms cease, and the patient 
seems cured. " But," says Hahnemann, " are 
the poor patients really cured in these cases? 5 
All that can be said is, that they seem to be so , 
and it would appear, according to this homoeo- 
pathist, that patients do not know when they are 
well. We are also told that whenever an inter- 
mittent resembles the effects of cinchona, then, 
and not till then, can we expect a cure. I am 
afraid if this were true, very few agues could be 
cured. 

2d. In many cases homoeopathic remedies 
would only increase the original disease ; and 
we can readily imagine the ill effects which 
would arise from the exhibition of acrid medi- 
cines in gastritis, of cantharides in acute inflam- 
mation of the bladder, or of mercury in saliva- 
tion. 

3d. The doses in which these agents are ex- 
hibited are so exceedingly small that it is diffi- 



94: SHARON SPRINGS. 

cult to believe they can produce any effect on 
the system ; and we may infer that the supposed 
homoeopathic cures are attributable to a natural 
and spontaneous cure, aided, in many cases, by 
a strict attention to diet and regimen. What 
effect can be expected from a decillionth part of 
a drop of laudanum, or a millionth of a grain of 
charcoal ? Hahnemann says it is foolish to 
doubt the possibility of that which really oc- 
curs ; and adds that sceptics do not consider the 
rubbing and shaking bestowed upon the homoe- 
opathic preparation, by which it acquires a 
wonderful development of power. 

4th. Homoeopathy has been fairly put to the 
test of experiment by some members of the 
Academie de Medicine, and the result was a 
failure. Andral tried it on one hundred and 
forty patients in the presence of the homceo- 
pathists themselves, adopting every requisite 
care and precaution, yet in no one instance was 
he successful. 



PROFESSIONAL ADVICE BEFORE LEAVING HOME. 

The writer has often thought that if invalids 
who propose to come here would confer with 
their regular medical attendant previously to 
leaving home, they might receive directions 
which would not only prove useful, but save 
them from unnecessary expense. "Many come 
here," says Dr. North, " without any professional 
advice or preparation. Having wearied out 
their physician, or gone the round of all the 
nostrums, they resolve to spend two or three 
weeks drinking and bathing in the pools of Sha- 
ron." A visit to the Springs is somehow to cure 
them. Just as if they should say, in an ordinary 
attack of sickness, " I will go to the druggist's, 
and procure some medicine." Ah! but what 
medicine? "No matter : medicine is medicine." 
But how do you know that your present disorder 
will be benefited by the medicine you select? 
" I don't pretend to know ; but I am sick, and 
there must be something on the shelves of the 
apothecary, to whom everybody resorts, that will 
cure me." In the same manner valetudinarians 



96 SHARON SPRINGS. 

often visit mineral springs. Without knowing 
whether their diseases be inflammatory or the 
reverse, — whether they need the water as an al- 
terative, diuretic, cathartic, — whether they need 
the warm, cold, or shower bath, or neither, — they 
come bent on two simple purposes, — to deluge 
the stomach with as much water as they can 
swallow, and to resort frequently to the baths. 
In this way the hopes of the patient are often 
blasted, and he departs wondering that such 
crowds should resort to a place where he has ga- 
thered nothing but trouble and disappointment. 
To the healthy and well balanced frame, a 
tumbler of the sparkling and delicious beverage, 
although it contains over twenty-eight grains of 
various saline matters, besides the gases, can do 
little mischief; and if ten or twelve tumblers are 
taken, the conservative powers of such a system 
will usually manage to avert the evil. But 
when the patient comes with the whole econo- 
my in a deranged condition, he cannot swallow 
ten or twelve tumblers of this potent medicine 
every day with impunity ; and after a few repe- 
titions he often goes home in despair, with every 
inflammatory tendency aggravated, and every 
irritation increased by the very remedy which 
has restored health to his neighbors and friends. 



